Watching the Rain
by potterfan226
Summary: In the pouring rain at Hogwarts school, Lily is faced a question from her boyfriend James that she wasn't expecting. What is the question and what will her answer be? A Lily and James ONESHOT.


**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They all belong to the lovely and talented JK Rowling.**

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**Watching the Rain**  
_Written by potterfan226_

Even as the cold rain splashed up against the windowpanes and even as the thunder boomed in the distance and the lightning lit up the entire sky, Lily Evans still loved to watch it.

She had always loved watching the rain; whether it was just a mild sun shower, or a huge thunderstorm like tonight, Lily always watched them. It didn't matter the time of day, unless it was during lessons, she always curled up with a blanket on the windowsill and stared out the window.

Some might call it childish at seventeen years old but Lily didn't care; she didn't care what people thought of her, unless if someone said something totally untrue and hurtful, well_ that_ was when it was time for Lily to draw the line.

A loud boom echoed dangerously in the distance and a flash of lightning followed just mere seconds after it. Lily didn't flinch, but just blinked at the sound. Her bright green, almond shaped eyes stared out into the dark grounds and over the many features that Hogwarts School had. For instance, Lily could see a small fire through the window of Hagrid's Hut and light smoke coming out of the chimney and then being blown around in the wind. The lake was just as dark as the clouds in the sky and the only thing you could see on the waters surface was the feint glow that came from the few light sources on the grounds.

Lily ran her fingers through her flaming red hair and glanced behind her towards the Portrait hole; it was midnight and her boyfriend James Potter was still in detention – for what, Lily didn't want to know. James was always getting into trouble; it was just a price to pay for dating one of the Marauders (a group of four boys who loved pranks). But, even though James was still getting detention, at least, thought Lily, it wasn't for dangling Severus Snape by the ankle, and dropping his pants. That was just mean.

She returned her gaze back to the window just as another streak of lightning hit the sky. Sighing, she rested her head on the cold wall behind her; once, just this once, she would love to be out there, dancing around barefoot on the wet grounds, her arms outstretched as the rain fell upon her. Lily had never been outside when it was raining like this; during the summer, or even before she came to Hogwarts, her parents never allowed it.

"You'll get electrocuted," they would say. So what if she did? It's not like that would be the worse injury she would have gotten; in her fifth year, while she was in the stands at the Quidditch Pitch, watching the Gryffindor verses Slytherin game, the idiot Slytherin Beater, Nott had hit a bludger towards the stands. Unfortunately Lily didn't duck in time and got it full force in the head. Lily smiled a bit as she remembered waking up and finding Nott in the bed across from her; apparently James gave him a good beating.

Thinking of her boyfriend she wondered where the heck he was at this hour. Surely he still couldn't be in detention! She glanced hopefully towards the portrait hole again but there was no sign of James.

"Where are you?" she whispered to herself. Lily sat there, on the windowsill, for another half-an-hour, and still, there was no sign of James. The only change that was noticeable was that the thunderstorm outside had settled down a bit. The thunder and lightning were further apart and the clouds weren't as dark. But, the rain was still falling heavily and the wind was still rustling the trees.

Lily looked down to the stone steps that led to the Great Oak doors; she thought she saw a shadow moving, like a human walking across the grounds, but when she blinked, they or it was gone. She shook her head and told herself clearly; _you're tired. Your mind is just playing games with you. _

It was true; she was starting to get tired and every so often she fought to keep her eyes open. She would go to sleep but she had promised James that she would stay up and wait for him. _But I hardly doubt that's gonna happen,_ Lily thought.

Yawning slightly, she got up; taking her blanket with her, Lily went over to the couch and lay down on it. She still kept her gaze on the window as her eyes began to fall heavily. Just as she started allowing her body to fall asleep, another bang came from outside. Lily sat up straight and looked at the window; that was definitely _not_ thunder.

Cautiously, she walked to the windowsill again and looked down onto the grounds; this time, her mind wasn't playing games with her. Two people, clearly boys, were running towards the Whomping Willow. Lily squinted her eyes to get a better view of who the two boys were and when she figured out their identities, she shook her head.

Lily's oh so called 'charming' boyfriend was one of those idiots running around in the rain. She gritted her teeth, stuffed her wand into her robe pocket and ran out of the Gryffindor Common room.

Did James really have detention tonight? Lily didn't exactly see a teacher giving him one, she just knew because James had told her at dinner. But all of this time, her idiotic boyfriend was running around outside, during a storm and probably playing "let's poke the Whomping Willow" again!

Even as Lily ran down the corridors, down the stairs and through special shortcuts, she still couldn't believe that James would lie to her. He had said that once detention was over, he would come straight back to the common room. Lily snorted inside her head. _Yeah right_.

When she reached the Entrance Hall, she quickly ducked behind a suit of armor as the caretaker Mr Filch rounded the corner. He was humming an odd Muggle tune and his cat Mrs Norris was purring happily around his feet. After he was out of sight, Lily put on the hood on her robe and ran outside into the rain.

She looked around and saw no one. She thought about calling out to James, but just in case Filch was still around, she didn't. Instead, Lily grabbed her wand, muttered "Lumos" and set off into the grounds looking for a sign of anyone.

As the rain fell onto her face, Lily felt her makeup start running down her soft cheeks; she didn't wear makeup often, just when she had a lot of time in the morning. By now, only about ten seconds later, she was drenched with cold rain water.

"James?" she called out into the darkness hopefully, "James where are you?"

The thunder boomed once again in the distance as Lily turned around. Well, she had seen the two boys run towards the Whomping Willow … maybe they were around there. So running hopefully to her left Lily kept calling out for James. What if he was hurt … what if he had gotten attacked by the crazy tree. Yet there was someone else with him, it was probably Sirius. Surely he would have run for help …

As all of these thoughts popped into Lily's mind, she didn't even realize that she walked right into something solid. She looked up and her face fell with ease. It was James.

"Where on earth have you been?" she yelled over the thunder. Even though she was barely two feet away from him, she still had to yell. James put his hand through his already messy black hair and shrugged.

"I don't know," he said loudly, "I fancied a walk …"

"In the rain?" said Lily. "C'mon James, don't lie to me. You said you were in detention …"

"Which I was," James cut across her. "Look," he took a step forward, "I'm sorry, I just had to do something quickly out here."

"It's raining James, haven't you noticed?" said Lily as she stretched her arms out to indicate the weather.

"Of course I noticed," yelled James as another boom of thunder echoed into the school grounds, "That's why I'm out here."

Lily looked at him suspiciously. She ran her fingers through her wet and tangled hair. "I – I was watching the rain and I saw you … I didn't know what to think."

James smiled and walked forward embracing her into a hug. He kissed the top of her forehead and said, "I know, you don't have to worry … I was just, er, planning something."

Lily pulled back. "Planning _what_ exactly?" she asked sharply. James grinned mischievously and Lily felt her stomach do a flip. _That damn grin,_ she thought to herself. She shook her head and sighed. "Can we go in, it's cold."

James looked at her curiously. "I thought you've always wanted to be outside when it's raining like this, Lily," he said as the rain water dripped down his face and off of his chin. Lily became very still.

"You, you remember me saying that?" she asked quietly. James nodded.

"Of course," he replied back, "it's not like whenever you say something I tune out. I listen to you," he grabbed her hand. "I love you so much, and you got to remember, if you say something, I listen."

Lily squeezed his hand. She was very close to shivering as the rain came falling down and a gust of wind flew around them. James's lips were starting to turn blue; it looked like he had been outside for a long time. Leaning in, Lily placed a kiss on top of his lips. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss.

When they broke apart, Lily smiled. "And you got to understand one thing too, that you are the only person that I love, and I know that I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

"I know that," James whispered, "that's why I brought you outside."

"What do you mean," said Lily, "by 'brought me outside'?"

"I knew you'd be watching out of the window, so I had to make sure that you'd come down here."

"Why?" asked Lily.

"Because," James reached inside his pocket of his robes and pulled out a small velvet box. Lily looked at is suspiciously. James dropped down onto one knee and opened the box revealing a white-diamond ring. Lily tore her gaze from the ring and stared into her boyfriends' eyes.

"Lily Evans, you have no idea how much I love you," he started. Another boom of thunder came followed by lightning. "From the moment I saw you, I knew you were the one. And, as the years passed, it became clearer to me that you were the only one that I wanted to be with. It was like my goal to go on at least one date with you, and when that happened, I, I was so happy, and I had so much fun, that I asked you out again …

"I know we haven't been going out for a long time, but why wait? I mean, Voldemort is around and I have a feeling he won't be gone for a long time … it's just, what if we wait, and then we find out its too late …? I want to be with you forever. So, I only have one thing to ask you: Lily Evans, will you marry me?"

Lily felt dazed. She could no longer feel her feet and the rain suddenly felt colder. She felt paralyzed, like she couldn't move a muscle. But, as she looked into the handsome, hazel eyes in front of her, she made a decision; one that was going to follow her for the rest of her life.

"Yes, James," she said quietly, "I'll marry you."

James's face lit up as she said it. He placed the ring on her trembling finger and stood up giving her a passionate kiss. "I love you so much," he whispered into her ear, "more than you'll ever know."

"I know James," Lily whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I love you too."

They shared yet another kiss in the pouring rain and then James, being the gentleman he was (well most of the time) led his fiancée back up to the castle, with his arms draped around her shoulders trying to keep her warm. They walked back to the Gryffindor Common room on the seventh floor, and luckily, no one was in there.

Lily cast the drying spell on both of them and the newly engaged couple sat down on the couch in each other's arms. Lily snuggled in closer to James's chest as he summoned the blanket and wrapping it around the two of them.

"James," said Lily at once, "why did you propose to me in the rain? And who else was with you when I saw you through the window?"

James smiled. "Well I proposed to you in the rain because of what you said last time it rained; how you'd always like to go out there when it poured, so I thought you'd like it there. As for who was with me, no one,"

Lily laughed inside her head. She knew James was lying, and felt was doing a very bad job, but she didn't care. There would be plenty of time for answers later. All she wanted to do now was lie in her fiancée's arms and not have to worry about a thing in the world.

They both looked into each other's eyes and smiled. At that moment, Lily knew it would be alright; through the good and the bad, the best and the worst, she knew she would always have James Potter by her side, no matter what.

**THE END**

Hey, hope you liked it. I wrote it one evening because I was bored. Please tell me what you thought. Thanks. :P **Please Read and Review.**

_For other stories that I've written, visit SIYE (penname: potterfan226)  
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